Benchmarking of existing OPC UA implementations for Industrie 4.0-compliant digitalization solutions

A standardized Communication / Information Protocol is necessary for implementing the 4 upper digitalization layers of Industrie 4.0-compliant solutions. OPC UA is one of the leading and preferred technology. Currently, there are many different OPC UA implementations available on the market. This paper gives an overview of existing solutions and shows the results of an initial benchmarking based on a set of evaluation criteria defined by the authors. Moreover, the manuscript identifies both free-of-charge and commercial solutions that are more adequate for implementing industrial applications.